Path Of The Trailblazer
by TheBloodEdge
Summary: It has been a century since the events of Last Raven. Two new organizations are at war. Now, a cocky pilot who prefers to be called Ace has to step up and blaze a trail for humanity toward the future. Starts to thread the super robot territory later on.
1. Newbies and missiles

**I swear, I couldn't sleep at night unless I wrote this fanfic. **

**With weeks of sleepless nights brainstorming... I present all of you with... *drum roll***

**Path Of The Trailblazer!**

* * *

><p>It's been a century since the war of Alliance and Vertex. In the 24 hours that Vertex declared their attack, many Ravens no, many human lives were sacrificed in this senseless war.<p>

Alliance, a group formed by three corporations who were on war previously, which joined together has an unmatchable access to resources. Vertex on the other hand, had the most amount of Ravens on their side. These aspects constantly put the both of the groups on par.

But both sides were devastated.

Machines, named Pulverizers were responsible for most of the deaths. The goal of these machines was unknown, but one thing's for sure: They pulverize anything in their path.

Jack-O, the leader of Vertex, issued headhunts toward any Raven he deemed weak, even his own friend, Sorcerer. As cruel and heartless as his actions were, this was to prevent the creation of the ultimate Pulverizer.

Pulvirizers were created by the Internecine. The Internecine collects data from every battle the Pulverizers fight and learns from previous mistakes. This in turn creates newer, stronger Pulverizers which make up for what the older one lacked. If this went on, the Internecine will eventually create an invincible Pulverizer, one that is physically impossible to destroy.

But, there was one Raven, an unnamed one, who proceeded to fight against Alliance, Vertex and the Pulverizers. He killed many Ravens, destroyed the Pulverizers and shutdown the Internecine all in the span of 24 hours.

When he shutdown the Internecine, he was greeted, rather poorly, by another Raven, Zinaida. Zinaida was out to claim the title, Last Raven, as all the Ravens were dead, save Jack-O who went missing.

After a long, grueling battle, the unnamed Raven won, making him the Last Raven. After that, he and his operator were gone without a trace.

A century later, an organization called Terra Sphere took control of the world. Under Terra Sphere, the rich lived glorious lives on the surface. The poor on the other hand, were shoved underground and were left to starve to death.

This of course, led to many people trying to overthrow Terra Sphere. The problem is, there were no more Ravens. The best thing they could do is use MTs and assault Terra Spere HQ.

Terra Sphere, worried about the sheer number of rebels, decided to recreate an AC, based on the AC of the previous Alliance Tactical Unit leader, Evangel.

This AC alone managed to destroy all of the rebels. But, the rebels never gave up. They never stopped with their assault.

Terra Sphere then decided to make more ACs to fight against the assault. This was a mistake. As they started to remanufacture parts, a greedy man, Brian Schenwerg, who worked for them, sold parts to the black market.

The rebels purchased these parts and manufactured their own ACs. They learned how to crate parts by observing the workings of the parts they bought. They finally had enough pilots to call themselves an organization. They named themselves, Hasta Caeli.

As it seemed, history repeats. But with the Pulverizers gone, only one side is allowed to win this war.

* * *

><p>In the Terra Sphere HQ branch, located at what used to be Area R-11 AC Garage, a middle-weight, two-legged model AC is being maintained. Nearby, a blond young man clad in red was shouting.<p>

"The day has arrived! Finally!" the loud young man shouts toward the sky, gripping his fist.

"Mark, I know you're excited about taking on your first mission. But focus. It's a warfi-" a black-haired girl wearing a green sleeveless shirt says but was interrupted.

"Hey! I know YOU'RE more excited than me. That glint in your eye says everything!" he says, moving his face closer to the girl to take a closer look at her eyes.

"Haha! What can I say? The both of us went through so much together as a team." she says, starting to smile.

"Those training exercises were hell. They practically surrounded me with missile launchers and told me to dodge all of that. If that's not crazy, I don't know what is." he reminisces, shivering to the memory.

"But you made it. And you have to thank me for telling you when and where to dodge." she says. "You and me, we're like the picture perfect team of a pilot and an operator."

"You can say that again." he says, with a huge grin plastered over his face.

"Mark Ayeris and Madeline Hughs! Come here, you slackers!" the sergeant of the branch yells at them.

"YESSIR!" the both of them shout in response with fear in their tones quickly running to the sergeant.

"Good. As you can see, I have a mission here that I want you two to do. Several MTs are attacking Tartarus HQ. So all you have to do is dispatch them. Simple, isn't it?" the captain says.

"Roger that!" the both of them shouts in unison.

"Now you, Mark, seeing as you're now a pilot, you have to use a codename from now on." the sergeant says to Mark.

"Do I get a codename?" Madeline asks, raising her hand.

"No. Only pilots get a codename." the sergeant responds. He then turned to Mark and asked "So, what'll it be?"

Standing up straight and broadening his shoulders, he says with a confident voice, "Sir, from this day onward, I will be designated by 'Ace' for I am an Ace Pilot!"

"Quite cocky for a newbie aren't ya? Now let's see if you can walk the talk." the sergeant says.

The captain gives them a signal for them to go and take their stations. Madeline at the computers, having to get used to all the screens and Mark changing into his pilot suit.

After Mark is done changing, he walks over to Madeline, tapping her shoulder to grab her attention and says with an egoistic tone, "Whaddaya think? Feeling the hots?"

"Nope. But you look okay." she says, not even looking.

"Okay? That's it?" he says, raising an eyebrow.

"Everyone, step back! We're raising the AC now!" the head mechanic yells.

The floor slowly opens. Then, a red-black-gold themed AC slowly rises up from the basement to ground level.

"Would you look at that? The Ace Custom. I designed it myself. It was nearly impossible to get my hands on the OP-I part. But I got it cause I'm just that awesome!" Mark gloats.

"Whoa. Its stats are amazing. Attack: A, Defense: A, Mobility: A, Energy Supply: S, Cooling: S and Vs. ECM: S." Madeline says, describing the Ace Custom's stats.

"Just who the hell do you think I am!" Mark shouts, pointing toward the sky complete with an imaginative volcano erupting in the background.

"Enough fooling around!" the sergeant yells, smacking Mark. "Go get in the cockpit!"

Groaning a little, Mark climbs up the ladder which leads to the top of the AC. The entrance to the cockpit was located at the area behind the head. He jumps down the hole and onto the seat of the cockpit. He then starts up the Ace Custom.

"Oh, man, this is awesome!" Mark says, his hand trembling.

"Systems... check. Weapons... Check. Boosters... check. The Ace Custom is good to go!" Madeline mumbles then shouts while reviewing the current status of the AC through her computer.

The 'eyes' of the DRONE head starts to light up. The AC stands up straight and walks out of the garage.

* * *

><p>After some time, Mark made it to Tartarus HQ. But there wasn't a single MT. Only one yellow AC.<p>

"Strange... No one told me about another AC..." Mark says, biting his lip.

"Mark! The mission briefing was wrong! There aren't any MTs attacking. There weren't any enemy MTs in a 20 kilometer radius! Only an AC!" Madeline shouts through the communicator.

"You could've told me that before." he says.

"There were ECM devices located around the area. No one could've find out." she says, reviewing the data on the computer , "Either way, get out of there! You're no match fo-"

"Now, now. I want to see what this cocky brat is made of. Ace, if you're man enough, you'll go and destroy that AC!" the sergeant shouts through the communicator.

Mark wonders why everyone keeps shouting at him through the communicator. After all, even a whisper is as clear as day. He grabs onto the controls of the AC and says, "It's just ONE AC. I can kick its ass with my hands tied behind my back."

"That's the spirit." the sergeant says.

"You idiot! You'll get killed!" Madeline shouts at Mark.

"LA-LA-LA-LA-LA! I can't hear you!" Mark sings, covering his ears.

Mark activates the boosters and flies near the enemy AC. The pilot of the yellow-reverse jointed AC notices Mark's AC and turns around to face him.

"Who would you be?" the pilot asks.

The voice seems to be a middle aged man, around his thirties.

"I'm Ace. And my orders are to take you out!" Mark says, somehow making his AC point at the yellow AC.

"... What? There's not a shred of data on you!" the pilot mocks.

"That's cause it's my first mission." he responds.

"Pfft. Terra Sphere must be bankrupt to send an amateur pilot against me!" the pilot says, trying to contain his laughter.

"Amateur? I! Am! An! Ace!" Mark yells with emphasis on every word.

"Then I guess this will be your first and last mission. I, Mistletoe, have never lost a single AC battle!" the pilot yells.

"Main System: Engaging Combat Mode." the computer of the Ace Custom says, "Enemy AC detected. AC MMM. Unit is equipped with micro missile weapon arms and uses missiles as its primary means of attack."

"What does MMM stand for?" Mark asks.

Mistletoe switches his weapon arm to ten missiles per shot. He then activates his extension part which fires 4 extra micro missiles.

Mark on the other hand, runs toward his right and aims his PIXIE2 machine gun at the MMM, shooting like crazy.

Mistletoe immediately jumps up in the air, using his boosters to stay airborne long enough to fire a 14 micro missile salvo at Mark.

"I... have a good guess..." Mark says, his eyes wide open.

He quickly uses his boosters to strafe to the side. About 5 of the missiles hit the ground whereas the rest keeps on heading toward him. All of them hit his left arm."

"Left arm damaged." the computer says.

"Dammit! Was I too rash?" Mark says.

"You're always rash... Just calm down. I believe in you. I know you can beat this guy." Madeline says through the communicator.

Mark immediately boosts behind a building to calm down and think of a way to counter Mistletoe's tactics.

Speaking of Mistletoe, he boosts nearby the Ace Custom and says, "You can hide... But you can't run!" and then jumps into the air again, firing another salvo.

"Bingo!" Mark shouts, quickly firing several shots at the missiles.

Three missiles explode, causing a chain reaction that makes all of the 14 missiles Mistletoe fired explode in front of him, damaging his AC. The recoil sends him plummeting to the ground, having to use his legs to slide onto the ground to stabilize himself.

But when he takes a good look at the screen, he notices the Ace Custom boosting toward him, with his beam sword activated.

Mark was screaming in the AC, "Ruuuuuuuaaaargh! Ace Custom... Vertical Slash!"

If the name didn't hint anything, Mark uses the ELF3 beam sword located on his left arm and performs a vertical slash onto the joint connecting the MMM's left arm to the core, chopping off the left arm.

To keep with the momentum, Mark screams again, "Ace Custom... Kick!"

In this case, he only activated the boost on his left leg to send it upward toward the MMM's core, in other words, kicking the core. The power of the left leg boost is enough to send the MMM several hundred metres back.

"Enemy's left arm destroyed. Enemy's core part damaged." the computer said.

"Do you HAVE to name your actions?" Madeline asks Mark.

"It's not as cool if I leave them unnamed." Mark says.

"You're not bad... For a rookie." Mistletoe says, panting. "But let me show you what a real AC can do!"

Mistletoe activates his core's OB function and boosted to the Ace Custom. Mark didn't have enough time to react to the next action. Mistletoe literally uses his still intact right arm to punch the Ace Custom's Core, with the speed and velocity of 700 km/h.

The impact is enough to make Mark throw up. But that isn't the end yet. Mistletoe activates his right arm's missiles and fires 5 missiles at point blank range. It sent the Ace Custom flying through the air. The extension missiles also fires hitting the Ace Custom.

Just as his AC is about to hit the ground, Mark uses his legs and his booster to stabilize himself.

"Core part damaged." the computer says.

"He's good..." Mark says, trying not to vomit.

"Mark..." Madeline says with a worried tone.

"BUT I'M BETTER!" Mark yells, confidently gripping the controls.

He switches to the linear rifle on his back and strafes to the left, firing it.

Mistletoe starts using the dual missile launcher on his back and fires as much as missiles as he could at Mark.

After 5 missed shots, Mark gets a clear aim and fires the linear rifle at the MMM. The recoil stuns the MMM for a second before Mark fires two more shots. The shots make a large smoke in front of the MMM, blocking Mistletoe's view.

When the smoke clears, the Ace Custom is gone. Mistletoe looks around before checking his radar on Mark's location. Surprise! He is right behind him.

But it was too late when Mistletoe found out. Mark uses his ELF3 beam sword and stabs the MMM's core through the left shoulder. After that, he quickly smashes his PIXIE2 machine gun on the MMM's EYE4 head. He then fires his machine gun through the head of the MMM until it explodes.

"Enemy's head part damaged. Enemy's head part destroyed." the computer says.

"Impossible! How could I lose... To a rookie!" Mistletoe says, shame and fear in his voice.

"Never underestimate...Your opponent." Mark says, quickly smashing the PIXIE2 machine gun on the top part of the MMM's core and firing more rounds.

The absurd amount of rounds fired made a hole through the cockpit and actually shot Mistletoe with a huge bullet before he could say anything.

Mark deactivates his beam sword and boosts back, as the MMM explodes.

"You did it. You actually won." Madeline says, surprised.

"I TOLD you I can handle an AC." Mark gloats.

"Impressive. You really are an Ace Pilot." the sergeant says, impressed.

"Mission objective achieved. System switched to normal mode." the computer said.

* * *

><p>After a while, Mark makes it back to HQ. He gets out of the Ace Custom only to be greeted by Madeline. And when I say greet, I meant slap.<p>

"Do you have to be so cocky all the time!" Madeline yells.

"Hey, I did win..." Mark says, rubbing his cheek.

"That's not the point! You could've been killed!" Madeline yells.

Mark couldn't think up a counter-argument. He only remains silent while looking away.

"Death comes to all of us." the sergeant says, slowly walking over. "We can't let something so trivial persuade us."

"Yeah... What he said." Mark says, agreeing to the sergeant

Madeline does not have the right to talk back to the sergeant, so she has to stay quiet. The sergeant then says to Mark, "Anyway, you have proved yourself to be a capable pilot, being able to defeat an enemy AC on your first mission. I acknowledge you as a pilot of Terra Sphere."

"Hell yeah." Mark says.

"And from now on you have all the right to be designated by Ace." he says.

"Hear that Madeline? You have to call me Ace from now on!" Mark says, pointing at Madeline. "And that means you too narrator!"

"Fine... Ace." Madeline says, a little bit mad.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, at the Hasta Caeli base.<p>

"Sir, Mistletoe was killed at Tartarus HQ!" an operator says to someone. He was covered by a silhouette.

"Who killed him...?" he says, his tone getting angrier.

"A new AC and a new pilot. He calls himself, Ace." the operator says, fear grabbing hold to his tone.

"Mistletoe was weak... But I want to see the capabilities of this... 'Ace'" he says.

* * *

><p><strong>Wow, I never wrote this much before.<strong>

**You may notice that I used the word, 'pilot' and not 'Raven'. I'll elaborate on that point next chapter. If there is one.  
><strong>


	2. Blades and hi mega cannons

It's been a week since Ace beat Mistletoe. Because he was able to beat an AC unit on his first mission, Ace's name got well-knowned. But autographs and shrieking fangirls aside, being popular has a huge disadvantage. What's the disadvantage? A larger bounty.

Bounties have been placed on pilots of Hasta Caeli by Terra Sphere. The same works vice versa. This is to motivate their pilots to destroy the opposition. If a pilot seems to be adept at piloting, the bounty on his head will increase.

This of course, motivates many people to try and kill Ace. But for the past week, Ace was shoved with recon and defense missions. Some ACs showed up, but where taken out, without fail.

"Maaaaaan! I'm bored!" Ace moans, lying down on the couch.

Madeline, sitting on a chair while reading a book entitled Hairy Potty and The Dead Hollow, just keeps on ignoring him.

"Uh... Hey, are you still mad at me?" Ace asks, finally taking notice of Madeline's odd behaviour for the past few days.

"Why do you always want to put your life on the line?" she asks, closing the book, making a loud sound.

"Huh?" he responds, confused.

"What is there to prove by beating any and every pilot you come across?" Madeline starting to sound angry.

"Heh. That I'm the best goddamn pilot in the world!" he enthusiastically shouted.

"Just for the sake of pride? You throw yourself into life and death situations, just so people would look up to you!" she yells.

"It's not just that! Don't you remember...? Why we had to be here in the first place?" he asks.

Madeline then recalls the events that made them be part of Terra Sphere.

* * *

><p>Ace and Madeline grew up in the same town, which is located on the outskirts of Circ-City. They never cross paths despite living near one another. But one day, an MT from Hasta Caeli attacked the town. The objective was unknown. It was a small town, and there was nothing that could pose a threat to them. Either way, every building was razed to the ground. There were only two survivors of said attack. Ace and Madeline. The attack caused both of them to think that the Hasta Caeli are just a bunch of cold blooded killers.<p>

They were found by some members of Terra Sphere. Said members gave them a choice. Join the Terra Sphere military or live underground which is technically considered as hell to many. The second option is due to the law Terra Sphere placed. If anyone who doesn't work for Terra Sphere or is poverty stricken were to walk the surface, they have to be caught and sent underground. Not much people know why such a law existed.

With the thought of avenging their family and friends, the both of them made the same choice. Join Terra Sphere. This is when their paths crossed. They found out that the both of them had the same agenda, so they teamed up as pilot and operator.

At the young age of 10, they had to learn up on the basics of everything involving ACs. Through Virtual Reality (VR) tests, they were able to improve their skills.

It was only 8 years later they officially became part of Terra Sphere.

* * *

><p>"Our family... Our friends... I can't... I WON'T let them get away with it." Ace gripping his fist hard enough to crack them.<p>

"Even so..." Madeline tried to respond but was cut off by Ace.

"Look. I know you're worried about me. That I'd die and leave you all alone in this world... Just believe in me. The me who believes in you." Ace tapping Madeline's nose.

"Mark..." Madeline tries to say, but was cut off again by a loud cough from Ace. "Ace... That... Made no sense."

"Trying to be inspirational here." Ace sighs.

Ace's messenger started to beep. What's a messenger? It sort of looks like an iPad. Its only function is to give and receive voiced messages. And every time it receives a message, it will make a sound so annoying, even Friday from Rebecca Black would sound melodious. Nasty little buggers.

"We need your help Ace. The Diorgan Distribution Centre is being attacked by two unidentified NEXTs. This place is one of our most important facilities. The defences we placed at the area seem to be completely useless against those two. Please. Defeat them at any cost." the voice of what seemed to be a middle aged woman says.

"What the hell... Is a NEXT?" Ace, raising an eyebrow.

"NEXTs are ACs with increased energy output and booster power. They were created-" Madeline, trying to explain.

"All I needed to know! I'll go kick their asses!"

"Wait, these are nothing like ACs! They're faster and stronger and-"

"La-La-La-La! I can't hear you!"Ace, Covering his ears.

He leaves to change into his pilot outfit. Madeline on the other hand, reviews the data collected from the attack.

A few moments after that, Ace climbs up the Ace Custom. But before jumping into the cockpit, he took a minute to make a speech. Something he got fond of doing recently.

"With this hand, I will carve open the steak to..." Ace says, but most of it is both uninspirational and just doesn't make sense.

Logically, everyone ignores him whenever he does that. He jumps into the cockpit and starts up the Ace Custom. Immediately after that, Madeline spoke to him through the communicator.

"Ace, I don't know about this."

"Just believe in me!"

"It's not that. These are NEXTs we're talking about."

"And that's why the hired an ace. Trust me. I can take 'em."

"The possibility of-"

"Ace on Ace Custom... LAUNCHING!"

"Listen to me!"

"I don't care about possibilities. I KNOW I'll come back alive with a huge smile on my face. That's a promise I'll make!"

The eyes of the head part lit up and the Ace Custom immediately walked out of the garage.

* * *

><p>Ace arrived at the Diorgan Distribution Centre. He had to use an elevator to reach the underground level. The route to the area the enemy NEXTs are at seems to be a long straight-forward tunnel. Madeline than says,<p>

"All the defences weren't annihilated completely. Some are still active, and they will attack you."

"What? Why?" Ace, puzzled.

"Terra Sphere didn't reprogram the defences, so you'll have to fight your way through."

"Smart." Ace says sarcastically. "But that does make things slightly interesting."

He then activates his boosters to advance through the tunnel faster. He stumbles upon his first obstacle. The door. He tries everything, slashing it, shooting it, kicking it... Nothing seemed to work.

"Ace, you do know I can open the doors for you right?" Madeline asks.

"Yeaaaah. Of course I did." Ace, trying to hide the fact that he didn't have a clue.

Madeline hacks through the system and opens the door for Ace. A MT was standing behind the door. Just as it had a good lock on to the Ace Custom, it launched a large missile.

Large missiles are Armored Core's equivalent to nukes mind you. One of these is enough to take a huge chunk of AP of the Ace Custom.

Realizing that, Ace thinks of three ways to counter the missile.

Slice it. But it'll explode right in front of his face.

Shoot it. There's a high probability he'll miss. Ace can't shoot objects smaller than an MT properly.

Run. Which is highly logical as missiles explode after a set time.

But just as he is about to step on the pedal that activates the boost, the missile exploded anyway. Even though it was launched several seconds before that. That's when it hit Ace in the face. His core has a missile interception system.

A missile interception system basically fires a tiny beam at missiles to make it explode before contact. If it misses once, well, it won't shoot the same missile twice.

It didn't function this well against Mistletoe because of the speed of micro missiles and Ace's habit of strafing to the side.

Taking advantage of the explosion, which obstructs both the MT's and Ace's view, Ace shoots at the MT with his machine gun. He could pinpoint its location by using the radar built into his DRONE head part. If that gets destroyed, he still has a radar as his left back unit. Needless to say, Ace is radar crazy.

After about 20 shots, the MT finally explodes from the amount of damage. Ace activates his boost again to advance to the next corridor. After Madeline opens the door for him, that MT awaited him again. But this time, there were three of them.

"Fudge." Ace, his jaw dropping.

Kids, Ace didn't say fudge.

The MTs launches large missiles at Ace. Each MT launching one missile. That makes three large missiles headed directly at Ace.

His missile interception system managed to destroy 2 of them. But the last one was tricky. It keeps flying toward him.

Ace boosts toward his back and fires his machine gun at the large missile. After 5 missed shots, Ace says

"Screw this. Lineargun... SHOOT!"

"There's no need to call it out..." Madeline, feeling annoyed.

Ace switches to the lineargun located at his right back unit. The larger rounds should make it easier to blast the missile.

First shot. Miss. Second shot. Miss. Third shot. Miss.

"What happened to rule of three?" Ace, frustrated.

He takes a deep breath and focuses on the large missile. If he misses this time, the large missile will eat a chunk of his AP. Clearing his mind, he fires.

And misses. The large missile took about 1/8 of his AP.

"God... Dammit." Ace curses.

Either way, with the large missiles out of the MT's arsenals, taking them out would be a piece of cake.

The middle MT spotted him first and started shooting rifle bullets at him. He strafes to the right as it is already a habit. He then moves behind one MT and grabs it by the shoulder.

He shoves it in front of him using it as a body shield from the rifle bullets. The AI was incredibly stupid. It shot its own comrade while it stood in front of Ace.

Just as the body shield MT is about to explode, Ace kicks it toward the middle one, literally making it kamikaze at its own comrade.

The last remaining MT shoots at Ace. Jumping up into the air to dodge the bullets, Ace shoots some of his own bullets to damage it a little.

He lands directly in front of the MT. Quickly activating his beam sword, he cuts it open from between its legs upward to the torso, splitting it into two.

Now all that was left was to defeat the NEXTs. Ace runs to the area the data states they are at.

* * *

><p>The two NEXTs, one a silver lightweight bipedal and the other a pink heavyweight tank-leg, ravaged the distribution centre. They destroyed the generators, buildings and vehicles in the facility.<p>

"Daisy, seems like Terra Sphere sent an AC out for us." a man, around his thirties, piloting the silver lightweight bipedal NEXT says.

"I thought so. The fact that they would send an AC shows how vital this facility is." a girl, probably younger than Ace, piloting the pink heavyweight tank-leg NEXT responds.

Ace runs towards them and points his machinegun at the silver NEXT.

"Who the hell are you and why the hell are you destroying the facility!" he yells.

"None of your business." the girl in the pink NEXT says.

"(And why is that NEXT pink?) Madeline, any data on these two?" Ace asks.

"Yeah. They're not Hasta Caeli pilots... They're... What we call... Ravens." She answers, typing furiously on the keyboard.

"Ravens? Why is it only NOW I hear of this?" he asks.

"You never go through our intel do you?"

"Why should I?"

"As it seems, the cost to upgrade an AC to a NEXT is extremely high. Even you can't afford it for another 5 years."

"I assume these two are billionaires."

"That's a possibility... Ace... I think you should-"

"Run? HELL NO! I can take em'!"

"No, you don't get it! The chances of you winning are absolutely zero against just one of them!"

"I like a challenge!"

"These are NEXTs! Even the tank-leg NEXT can move faster than you!"

"So what! Remember! I'm an-"

"That has NOTHING to do with this! Please! I'm begging you! Just go!"

"NO!"

"Are you done arguing?" the pilot of the silver NEXT says. "Listen... Please leave. Now."

"Beowulf, this guy seems quite headstrong." The pilot of the pink NEXT says.

"That's me!" Ace yells proudly.

"Sigh. It's for the best. If you want to live to see tomorrow, then leave." the silver NEXT pilot says.

"No way." Ace, smiling confidently.

"Why do you have to be so... Stupid...?" Madeline, mumbling to herself.

"Why are you out for us?" the pink NEXT pilot asks.

"Because I was ordered to." Ace responds.

"So if they told you to put a gun in your mouth and then pull the trigger, would you do it?" she asks again

"Sh-Shut up!"

"This isn't going to end well. Fine, if you won't go, we'll exterminate you!" the silver AC pilot says.

"NEXTs detected. NEXT: Muramasa. Pilot equips auxiliary boosters to increase overall boost speed and uses dual blades as its only offense. Close range combat is not advised." The computer in the Ace Custom says.

"So, I have to stay away from the silver one." Ace biting his lip.

"NEXT detected. NEXT: Grave Maker. NEXT is built for emphasis on attack power and defence. Avoid its Back Unit laser cannon."

"And the pink one has the strongest laser cannon...?" Ace, biting his lip harder. "Any other data on these two?"

"There isn't anymore other than the fact they're Ravens. But judging from the previous conversation, the silver one is Beowulf and the pink one is Daisy." Madeline responds.

Beowulf loses his patience and uses a quick boost to move directly in front of Ace, before he even notices anything. Activating his left beam sword, short yet deadly, he cuts Ace's machinegun in half.

"What the hell!" Ace, shocked.

Beowulf follows that up by activating his right beam sword, long but very weak, and attempts to slash the Ace Custom. Countering that, Ace activates his beam sword and defends himself by clashing the two blades together.

"Why do you align yourself with Terra Sphere?" Beowulf asks.

"That's... None of your business!" Ace, shooting the lineargun on his back at the Muramasa.

The shot hit the Muramasa directly at its head. It was stunned for a split second, but Ace takes advantage of this by kicking it back and charging forward to stab the core, effectively ending the fight quickly.

But Beowulf uses a quick boost to dodge the stab. He then uses both blades and cuts of the Ace Custom's left arm, leaving Ace's lineargun as his only offense.

Ace tries to get a lock on Beowulf so that he can shoot him down, but he boosts as far back as possible. He checks his radar only to find out that the Grave Maker is behind him.

Daisy fires her railgun and hi-laser rifle at point blank range. It was too late for Ace to react as the blue bursts of energy hit him, leaving a spherical explosion.

The recoil sent Ace flying, having to use his legs to grind on the ground for balance. When he came to a complete stop, Beowulf lands directly in front of him and activates both blades.

His jaw dropping, Ace tries to boost backwards to escape but the Muramasa is faster than the Ace Custom. The speed difference is undeniable.

Beowulf yells at Ace," You possess neither will!" cutting off what remains of the Ace Custom's left arm.

"Nor reason!" cutting off the Ace Custom's right arm.

"Nor resolve!" this time, kicking the Ace Custom back.

Panting a lot, Ace looks behind him just to find the Grave Maker there again, this time with its laser cannon all charged up. He could hear the static shock of all the energy being collected from a mile away.

"You align yourself with people you know NOTHING about! You follow them blindly not knowing what they did or will do!" Daisy shouts, firing the laser cannon.

As the large blue energy approaches, Ace tries to dodge it by jumping out of the way. But both his legs got caught in the blast, destroying them.

With the legs gone, he couldn't boost properly anymore because the booster on the legs are what guide the AC, sort of like the steering wheel.

"Shit..." Ace mumbles.

"No..." Madeline, breaking a tear.

Beowulf approached what's left of the Ace Custom slowly. He grabs its head and lifts it of the ground.

"Take your last breath." Beowulf says, stabbing the core with his left beam sword, and then tossing the AC aside.

They glare at the now disembodied Ace Custom laying on the ground with a frustrated look.

"Did it really have to come down to this...?" Daisy mumbles to herself.

"We had no choice." Beowulf, with regret in his voice.

The both of them activated their boosters and escaped the facility.

"Ace... Please respond... I know you have some sort of dumb quote or anything of the sort..." Madeline, crying.

But there wasn't any sort of response.

"Just say something Mark! ANYTHING!" Madeline yells.

* * *

><p>The silence is very apparent in the Terra Sphere HQ. Even a nail falling on the ground would be the loudest sound at the moment.<p>

"I knew he wouldn't last forever..." the head mechanic mumbles.

Madeline doesn't respond to the head mechanic. She lays her head on the keyboard, using her arms to cover her face.

Although everyone regrets it, they had to mark Ace as killed in action.

_To be continued..._


	3. Ravens and trolls

**Man, this fanfic isn't getting any reviews! Doesn't matter, I guess. I'm doin' this for the lulz.**

* * *

><p>Unknown Area<p>

"Pour it on him." A somewhat familiar voice says.

Following the order, a little girl throws hot water at the now unconscious Ace.

"Holy crap!" Ace yells. "What the hell was that for!"

He looks around for a second. The room he's in seems to be a ward. Other than himself, there's a middle-age man with orange hair and a nine year old girl with white hair in the ward.

"More importantly, WHERE am I?" Ace asks.

"That information is classified." The man says.

"Tell me where I'm at right NOW or I'll-"

"Shut up." The girl said. "Listen to me."

"(Listen to a grade schooler she means.)" Ace thinks to himself.

"We found you in the middle of Garav Desert. You were half-alive, so we rescued you." She continues.

"I don't remember going there." Ace says.

"We don't either." The man says. "We found you in the cockpit of an AC we destroyed two months prior. The Ace Custom."

"WAIT A GODDAMN SECOND!" Ace yells. "YOU TWO are the pilots of those NEXTs?"

He got hysterical. But when he tries to get off the bed, he found his arms shackled to the railings of the bed.

"As I thought. You're that annoyingly loud pilot." The girl said. "If Hasta Caeli were the ones who found you, they'd cut off your fingers, torture you and then make fun of you."

"WHO CARES! You bastards tried to kill me!" Ace yells.

"In self defense. You would've attacked anyway." The man says.

"Doesn't matter! You-"

"Reasoning with this one proves to be quite improbable. Daisy, stay here and make sure he doesn't try anything stupid." The man says, leaving the ward.

Ace keeps on shaking his body, trying to get off the bed.

"Give up. You won't get off that easily." Daisy says.

"Dammit..." Ace stops struggling. "So. Why in the world did you rescue me?"

"We wanted answers. Even I thought you were dead."

"Oh... Wait, there was a two month period from that incident till now?"

"Yes."

"So what the hell happened in that two month period! I don't remember anything! Why can't I remember anything!"

Daisy looks him in the eye. She then asks,

"What was your last memory?"

"Um... Giant laser blade impaling my cockpit?"

"You don't remember anything AT ALL?"

"Yep."

Standing up to pick up some device that looks like a mini laptop, Daisy starts typing furiously and then shows Ace an article.

"Circ City Massacred By An AC" it reads.

"A week after that, it was revealed that the AC in question is the Ace Custom." Daisy says.

"Wha...? But I don't remember doing THAT!" Ace shouts.

Daisy's eyes widens for a second. She immediately stands up again and runs out of the ward.

* * *

><p>After an hour, Daisy and the middle age man walked into the ward.<p>

"Can you unshackle me already...? My nose itches." Ace says.

"You. Whatever your name is. Tell me. You absolutely don't remember killing all those people?" the man asks.

"I'll say it a billion times! I didn't do it!" Ace yells.

"So, Beowulf, should we believe him?" Daisy asks.

"I don't know. I have a nagging feeling he's telling the truth." Beowulf answers.

"You could at least help me scratch my nose!" Ace yells.

"If we leave him, there's no doubt both Terra Sphere and Hasta Caeli will hunt him down." Beowulf speculates.

"SCRATCH MY NOSE!" Ace yells.

"But if we recruit him, both organizations will hound us." Daisy says.

"Yes... Dealing with them will prove to be a pain in the ass. But they won't be too much trouble." Beowulf says.

"YOU GUYS! MY! NOSE! ITCHES! LIKE! HELL!" Ace yells, emphasising each word.

"Ace, would you join us?" Daisy asks.

"ONLY IF YOU SCRATCH MY NOSE!" Ace growls.

"Okaaay." Daisy, scratching his nose. "So, we really need an addition to our group. Are you okay with that?"

"Wait what? You try to kill me and now you want me to join you?" Ace, confused. "What's the matter with you two?"

"I'll say this once." Beowulf says. "We need another member to our group. Badly."

"And why does it have to be me?" Ace asks.

"It doesn't. But if you DON'T join us, both Terra Sphere and Hasta Caeli will hunt you down for the massacre of Circ City." Beowulf explains. "So it's either you join us... Or you're screwed."

"(Aww crap. What this guy is saying actually makes sense!)" Ace thinks to himself. "Fine. But I want to know why I would attempt a massacre."

"Us too. Our leader wants to have a word with you." Beowulf, unshackling Ace's arms.

* * *

><p>Beowulf leads Ace to the hallway. There, another man with multiple hair colours , presumably slightly younger than Beowulf takes a quick look at Ace.<p>

"So... This is... Whatever his name was?" he says.

"It's Ace, Captain Technicolour Hair!" Ace shouts in anger.

"Then I shall address you as Char Clone." The man says sarcastically.

Ace turns to Beowulf and speaks softly enough for the other guy no to hear.

"THIS is your leader?" he asks.

"He may seem immature and sarcastic, but he's a good leader." Beowulf answers.

"Quit screwing around. Everyone, gather up!" the man shouts.

Daisy and some guy covered with dirt rushes to the hallway.

"It's intro time Char Clone. I'm Dirk Scalone, just call me Dirk." He says, pointing at himself.

"(I'd call you Dick.)" Ace thinks to himself.

"And this one is Lang Zhi." Dirk says, pointing at Beowulf. "Call him Beowulf."

"This is Daria." Dirk, pointing at Daisy. "Call her Daisy."

"And finally our head mechanic, Ron... Whatever his last name is." Dirk, pointing at the man covered in dirt.

"Vi Naelon." Ron anwers.

"Too hard to pronounce. And your name is...?" Dirk asks.

"Mark Ayeris. Call me Ace." Ace says.

"You will be called Char Clone." Dirk says boldly.

"(This guy is getting one my nerves!)" Ace thinks to himself.

"Anyway! We rebuilt your Ace Custom and now you'll go on a mission with me!" Dirk says loudly.

"What? No obedience test or whatever?" Ace asks.

"You're dead meat if you're not obedient to us! C'mon. Let's go." Dirk pointing toward the NEXTs.

* * *

><p>Ace got into the cockpit of the Ace Custom. He noticed the cockpit looks different than usual. Mainly, instead of only being limited to the voices of others, the screens will show their faces. And the controls let him use any combination of his back units and arm units.<p>

"What's up with this?" Ace asks.

"It's a NEXT." Ron answers.

"Isn't that supposed to be super expensive?" Ace asks again.

"I got money to burn." Dirk answers, his face appearing on the screen. "Oh, and if the thought of betrayal ever crosses your mind, we installed a bomb to your NEXT."

"The Dirk team thinks of everything huh?" Ace says.

"Yes we do." Dirk says, patting his chest. "Let's go."

"Wait! What about pilot uniforms?" Ace asks.

"Pilot outfits are for pansies!" Dirk says, making a trollface.

And with that, Ace and Dirk left. Ace piloting the Ace Custom, and Dirk in a quad-legged NEXT called the F.O.D.D.E.R.

* * *

><p><span>Terra Sphere Main HQ<span>

"You screwed up again!" the sergeant yells.

"I'm sorry! I just-" Madeline, trying to explain herself.

"If I didn't tell them to retreat, my men could've been killed! And now we have to deal with a large sum of money for repairs!" the sergeant, scolding Madeline.

"I'm sorry! I thought that-" Madeline, bursting into tears.

"You're fired!" the sergeant shouts.

Drooping her head, Madeline walks out of the control room.

In the two month period, Madeline was transferred to the Main HQ after her ability as an operator became well known. She was tasked to deal with the high rank missions.

But when the Circ City massacre became public knowledge, she started making terrible mistakes.

So far, an AC pilot was killed because she forgot to tell him important information. The Ruga Mine was taken over because she overlooked the approaching enemies. And finally, several pilots were an inch away from death because she forgot to tell them about the reinforcements that were approaching.

"What now...? If I don't try to get an occupation, I'll get thrown underground." Madeline, pouting.

Suddenly, the warning siren goes off. An announcement is made.

"All individuals are to evacuate the building immediately. I repeat..." the feminine voice says.

Out of curiosity, Madeline runs to the conductor's room where she was before instead of evacuating. The sergeant runs past by her and then turns around as he notices her.

"Where are you going? The exit's that way!" he asks.

Madeline ignores her superior. After all, she was fired and therefore doesn't have to take orders from him anymore.

Entering the room then locking the door, Madeline pants a little while lying against the door. She goes to the computers and puts on the headgear. She begins typing furiously on the keyboard to take a look at the danger that caused the sudden evacuation.

As it turns out, 2 NEXTs were attacking the headquarters. A camouflage based quad leg NEXT, and a bipedal red, black and gold NEXT.

"Those colour schemes and the shape. There's no doubt it's the Ace Custom." Madeline mumbles.

She then makes a communication to the Ace Custom to see who the pilot is.

* * *

><p>Ace and Dirk practically dismantled the MTs guarding the area. Dirk never let in on why he'd come here. After waves and waves of enemies, Dirk sends a message to Ace.<p>

"All righty, Char Clone. I'm going in the facility on foot. You guard my NEXT and make sure nothing damages it." He says, climbing out of the cockpit.

"Roger." Ace responds. "(I can't believe I just said roger.)"

The MTs that guard the facility are jokes. They're AI controlled, but they're really pathetic. Or maybe it's just the fact that Ace and Dirk are using NEXTs.

While cutting a guard MT in half, Ace got a communication from an operator of the facility. The screen showed a face of a woman who looked awful familiar. She then asks,

"Mark? Is that you?"

"Maddy...?"

Around this point, the words 'OH CRAP!' were the only things going through Ace's mind. He did promise to come back with a smile on his face, but not like this.

"You're alive...?"

"Yeah I am." Ace, trying to keep a straight face.

They spent 5 seconds in awkward silence. Then, Ace's NEXT got shot by an MT.

Ticked off, Ace shoots the MT with his lineargun, and then cuts it in half.

"W-What are you doing?" Madeline shouts.

"My job." Ace, frustrated.

"You mean... You're a Hasta Caeli pilot now? Why? You we-"

"No! I'm a Raven now..."

"Why!"

"You know why! I'm accused of massacring an entire city! Both sides want me dead now! I don't even remember anything from the two months before this!"

Madeline bites her lip in confusion. There are about a hundred questions troubling her. But their reunion is finally cut short by a Terra Sphere AC.

The AC is a mauve hover legged model with sniper rifles for weapons. Ace thought of asking, but what's the point. Seeing as the pilot shot him without hesitation, he definitely isn't about to chat idly.

The pilot then shoots another round, this time; Ace manages to dodge it with ease. After that, Ace boosts forward to the AC, moving left and right, dodging every shot with ease.

Now this may sound like Mary Sue-ism, but keep in mind Ace pilots a NEXT now.

The pilot of the AC is shocked. He attempts to retreat.

Seeing this, Ace throws his machinegun directly onto the camera of the AC, obstructing the pilot's view for a second.

This second is enough for Ace to grab the AC's arms, and then kick the core. Pulling his NEXT's arms and stretching the leg, Ace listens to the pilot's horror as he witnesses the brutality of Ace's actions.

What do I mean? Ace yanks the arms of the AC off without any weaponry.

After pushing the AC back, Ace grabs the machinegun he threw and uses a quick boost to move directly in front of the AC.

Grabbing onto the head to make the AC stay in place, Ace then shoves his machinegun to the core.

"Mercy..." the pilot says.

Hesitating for a moment, Ace took a deep breath.

"Screw you." He says.

And then he fills up the AC's cockpit with ammunition.

"Gwaaaagh!" the pilot screams.

Ace pushes the AC back and lets it explode. He then notices the F.O.D.D.E.R. behind him.

"Bravo, Char Clone." Dirk says.

It seems that Dirk already finished whatever business he had with the facility. Giving a sign to leave, Dirk boosts away from the facility.

But Ace didn't leave yet. He looks at the screen which he talked to Madeline with before the fight.

The screen only showed the words,

"The other party was disconnected."

Sighing, Ace leaves the area and follows Dirk's lead.

Noticing Ace, Dirk sends communication of his own.

"So... That your girlfriend...?" Dirk asks sarcastically.

"NO!" Ace, embarrassed. "Wait, how were you eavesdropping?"

* * *

><p>Back at the HQ, Madeline was captured by the sergeant and locked in the negotiation room.<p>

They asked her questions like,

"What's your connection to those Ravens?"

"Why did you stay in the facility?"

Over the course of 3 hours, she was finally marked as a traitor and sentenced for execution.

_To be continued..._


	4. Curb stomp battles and presidents

A few days has passed since the last chapter. Ever since then, Dirk spent his time locked in a room, alone. What he is doing is anyone's guess. Daisy says he's trolling various internet forums, Beowulf says he's surfing various inappropriate websites and Ron... He doesn't say anything that makes sense.

Ace wants to get to know these people he's with now. He tries talking to them. Beowulf is quite snobby. As in, he doesn't want anything to do with Ace. It's probably the major differences between their fighting styles. Ace likes to go straight up without a tactic. Beowulf spends his time with calculations and so on. Which is ironic as Beowulf's Muramasa has nothing but blades as offense.

The other one is the mechanic, Ron. Ron is practically in his own world. A world full of repairing and maintaining NEXTs. Beyond that, he practically ignores everything.

And then there's Dirk who's locked up in the room. Even if he isn't, Ace would never try to approach him. Dirk likes to screw people over for one reason and one reason only. For fun. According to Ace, Dirk is a huge dick.

Finally, there's Daisy, the only woman in this nameless bunch of misfits. She's 9 years old. I repeat. 9 YEARS OLD. And don't make me get started on her NEXT, the Grave Maker. A tank-legged NEXT composed of parts with the highest AP and the highest defence. And loaded with energy weapons. Insanely high damage dealing energy weapons. AND IT'S PINK. Just like Beowulf, she doesn't want anything to do with Ace. Maybe he's just that hateable.

It's also questionable why they'd invite him to join. And on top of that, put him in the Ace Custom, which is under hunt by Terra Sphere and Hasta Caeli. It would be smarter to put him in it if it was an AC, but they put him in the NEXT version. It does give him a higher chance of survival, but the cost is crazy. But it would be a billion times smarter to put him in a different NEXT. The reason for that is because their group won't be held responsible for the massacre of Circ City. Even with a genius tactician on their side, this group is quite idiotic. They don't have a name by the way.

Their base is located underground, so it's pretty hard to locate. The lack of sunlight is troubling though. It's quite small, being able to only hold 5 NEXTs. It has all the necessities, but the real mystery to it is where the food comes from.

* * *

><p>So it is the start of another afternoon. Ace had to share a room with Ron. Dirk and Beowulf share theirs and Daisy is alone. The possibility of Ron sleeping is near void. He's always up maintaining the NEXTs.<p>

Ace grabs a packet of potato chips and logs on to one of the computers. The first thing on his mind was to check up on the current news. The main articles aren't much, just politics and stuff. But only one caught his eye. 'Madeline Hughs To Be Executed'.

Even though no image is provided and he never remembered Madeline's last name, Ace won't about to take the chance. The execution is going to be done at noon on that very day.

There is a basic rule in the group. If you want to take a mission, ask Dirk and see if he approves. Ace is VERY hesitant about this part. He knocks on the door. Dirk opened it, looking quite cynical.

"What?" he asks.

"There's a mission I want to-" Ace says.

"Your girlfriend's gonna get executed, yeah I know. Go ahead. And remember the rule of two." He said, slamming the door shut.

The rule of two basically means you have to go into missions with a partner. Ace goes to ask Daisy and Beowulf who are practically lounging around, doing nothing.

"Guys. Can one of you accompany m for a mission?" Ace asks.

"Where and why?" Daisy asks.

"The Terra Sphere base. My friend is gonna get executed and-" Ace says, but is interrupted.

"It's an obvious trap." Beowulf says boldly. "The fact that you know about an execution carried out by Terra Sphere means they purposely want to catch your attention. They handle those things in secrecy. But your friend'll get executed if you don't go."

"But if you do go..." Daisy, making a dramatic pause. "They'll sick their best pilots on you and send you straight to hell."

"Who is this friend of yours anyway?" Beowulf asks.

"Uh, my ex-operator." Ace, looking away.

"Your ex-girlfriend you mean." Daisy said with a teasing tone.

"If it's an operator, there's a 94.3% chance it's female." Beowulf, calculating in his head.

"Look, I don't care if it's a trap or what not!" Ace yells. "There's no way in hell I'm going to let my friend die! But I have to have one of you come with me."

Beowulf and Daisy started clapping. It seems they're impressed by Ace's three lines of speech. Daisy stands up and says,

"I'll come with you. You'd go anyway if I don't agree to come. And you WILL be screwed over. Love makes you stupid." Daisy says, still using the teasing tone.

* * *

><p>The both of them got into their NEXTs. As it seems, they don't have much time before the execution. So the fastest mode of transportation would be... To attach the NEXTs to boosters with the force of a rocket.<p>

As they wait for the boosters to be strapped on, Beowulf sends a communication signal to Daisy.

"Remember, if the going gets tough... Ditch him." Beowulf says boldly.

"Roger that." Daisy responds.

"Jackass." Ace whispers.

"What?" Beowulf asks.

"Nothing." Ace, smiling.

After the boosters are successfully strapped to the NEXTs, Ron gives a thumbs up sign signalling that they're good for take-off.

"I've always wanted to say this..." Ace says, licking his lip. "Ace on Ace Custom... LAUCHING!"

He starts the boosters and the Ace Custom takes off faster than sound. The amount of Gs he is experiencing is equal to being flattened by a steamroller. The pain he's experiencing is extreme... But needless to say, he's having a hell of a time, screaming in joy the whole way.

"What a weirdo." Daisy mumbles, before starting up her boosters.

Unlike Ace, Daisy is way more silent and keeps a straight face. Or it's probable that the heightened weight of the Grave Maker is slowing the boosters down.

* * *

><p><span>Terra Sphere HQ<span>

The execution is to be held in front of a crowd as a demonstration... But it's a trap. The HQ is guarded by 4 ACs. That's about all. 4 ACs should be able to take down a NEXT. And having backup MTs would be a waste of time because they'll get destroyed quickly before even doing much damage.

"Enemy NEXT approaching! Two of them!" an operator shouts.

"Don't worry." A commander says. "They'll be dead by dawn."

The commander is Ralph... Something. His last name was never known. He is tasked to handle the threat aka the Ace Custom ever since the massacre. He sucks at it. Badly. There were a lot of attempts to hunt the pilot, but the lack of info was a problem. And then there's the fact that the pilot is dead. This is the only shot he'll ever get.

The 4 pilots tasked for the mission are Skeith, Boa, Ice and Grane. Skeith's AC is equipped with shotguns and missiles, Boa's equipped with energy rifles and pulse cannons, Ice and his bazookas and finally, Grane with his grenade rifles and chainguns. It doesn't really matter because they're gonna get owned. Their basic task is to just guard the entrance to the base. Not so hard, really.

"This sucks." Grane, pouting.

"Shut up." Skeith says.

"The mission pays well, and it's quite easy. Just guard the entrance." Boa says.

"But isn't it odd that they'd hire four ACs for the job? One is already overkill." Ice speculates.

They were given the task with the information being only 'Guard The Entrance'. So they had no idea about the hell that was about to come. They received a voiced message from the operator.

"Two enemy NEXTs approaching." He says.

"Enemy what?" Grane, puzzled.

Disarming the boosters, Ace tries to fix his NEXTs position. The speed he was moving at is at least 2000 kilometers per hour. Grane saw the signal but it was too late by then.

"Super... Ace Custom! Kick!" Ace shouts.

Grane turns his entire AC to see the enemy... And got kicked. Hard. How hard? Hard enough for the foot of the Ace Custom to completely break through the cockpit and smash Grane.

After struggling for a few moments, Ace got his foot out of the cockpit. The other three are completely in utter shock as they see their own comrade die.

"Eat this!" Skeith shouts, firing his shotgun at Ace.

"NEVEEEEEER!" Ace shouts back, taking the shots as he boosts directly in front of Skeith's AC.

Ace starts up his beam sword. Skeith notices the streaking orange energy and jumps out of the way in hopes of dodging the slash.

"That's a pretty nice shotgun." Ace says. "I'll take it."

Ace leaps into the air and cuts off Skeith's arm, forcing him to release the shotgun. He then catches the shotgun and wields it on his left arm, together with his beam sword.

When gravity does its magic and pulls Ace down to the ground, he's surrounded by Boa and Ice, both pointing their weapons at Ace.

Ace sighs. He then snaps his finger. A large streak of blue light flashes across the screen of Ice's AC.

It's really a large energy blast from Daisy's Grave Maker. Ice's AC melts from the high temperature of the beam, killing him in the process.

"That was overkill..." Daisy says.

Boa got pissed off. She shot her energy rifles at Ace. Countering that, Ace places the shotgun he stole onto the core of Boa's AC.

Without bothering to give a one liner, Ace pulls the trigger. The ammunition of the shotgun penetrates the core and without a doubt pierces Boa.

The last one left is Skeith. He fires missiles at Ace, but the missile interception system manages to take the missiles down. Daisy aims her railgun at Skeith and fires a shot.

He sees the shot and jumps upward to dodge it.

"Psyche!" Ace shouts, firing his lineargun at Skeith.

The shot stuns Skeith's AC for a few seconds but you know, enough for Ace to take advantage.

He utilizes the Quick Boost to leap at an insane speed. He then positions his left arm properly for a stab.

"Crap!" Skeith shouts. "Move dammit!"

Ace stabs Skeith's AC from between the legs, through the cockpit and out the head. Basically, he impales Skeith's AC and most definitely fries Skeith like an omelette.

Daisy moves in rather slowly to the entrance. The tank legs are the slowest legs after all. Coupled with the heavy hard hitting weapons, and you have a NEXT that would die in high speed combat.

"That was awfully easy." Daisy says. "There's no way they'd set such a horrible trap. Maybe something else is waiting for us."

"Nyeh, we'll kick its ass." Ace, rubbing his nose.

"The four ACs positioned to guard have been taken out." An operator says.

"Don't worry. We still have our trump card." Ralph says.

They searched through the base. Oddly enough, there weren't much in defence. They saw ACs, but no one was piloting them. The MTs as usual, are controlled via AI. That's when they got outside to a large open area that looks like an arena.

"This is where they test out new ACs and stuff." Ace explains.

"I know." Daisy, not interested.

A large door opens. And from inside it, a blue NEXT comes out via Overboost and slams into the Ace Custom.

"What the hell is that?" Ace shouts.

"It's a NEXT... But it's not holding any weapons." Daisy responds.

"Wait a sec." Ace says. "I think I've heard of this blue NEXT. The Steel... Dawg?"

"Steel Dog?" Daisy, confused.

"No, Steel Dawg."

"I don't get it... Um, who's the pilot?"

"I forgot. I just heard about a development of a custom-made NEXT unlike any other."

"You don't know me?" The pilot, annoyed. "Wilson Michaels, the-"

"Oh crap!" Ace shouts, interrupting the pilot.

"What about it?" Daisy asks.

"Wilson Michaels is the leader of the Terra Sphere troop known as United States."

"...What?"

"And the reason is..." Wilson says. "I'M the PRESIDENT of the UNITED STATES!"

Daisy raises an eyebrow. She is confused to the fact that the world has many odd characters.

"Get ready Daisy, this one's gonna be tough battle." Ace says.

"No, it's a war." Daisy responds. "A war of two hams."

"It's do or die." Ace, gripping the controls tightly. "But I'm not going to-"

"Save that one-liner for some other day." Daisy, annoyed. "So, where is the execution going to be held at anyway?"_  
><em>

_To be continued... When I feel like it_


End file.
